U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Air and Marine Operations rescued two lost hikers early Tuesday morning in the Catalina Mountains.
Mitchell Pribble, AMO's director, says this is the fourth rescue for the agency in the past eight days in the Catalinas.
"They had hiked beyond their capability and became exhausted," said Pribble. "The female in the group was showing signs of medical distress."
CBP says the Pima County Sheriff's Department contacted the agency to help assist around 1 a.m. and deputies worked overnight to make sure the hikers had enough supplies to last the night.
Pribble says when the sun came up, AMO's crew launched their aircraft.
.@CBPArizona's Air and Marine Operations shares how they rescued two hikers this morning near Kimbal Peak in the Catalinas @5pm @kgun9 pic.twitter.com/tYp102BrHu
— Priscilla KGUN9 (@PriscillaCasper) March 21, 2017
"Often times we get visitors from out of state they don't understand the heat and difficulty in hiking in this kind of terrain and they don't understand they need to carry additional water," he explained. "So they are usually really unprepared which creates the situation."
Pribble says on average every time the crew operates their aircraft, it costs taxpayers just over $2,200 dollars an hour.
CBP say the two hikers were examined and had no injuries.
CBP's AMO division currently has job openings. If interested, click here to apply online.
